Dawn
by Cairnsy
Summary: A supposedly routine mission goes drastically wrong, and Kai-stern, Tetheus and Alfeegi end up getting drawn into a dangerous web of deceit and violence.
1. Default Chapter

**Summary: **A supposedly routine mission goes drastically wrong, and Kai-stern, Tetheus and Alfeegi end up getting drawn into a dangerous web of deceit and violence.

**Author's notes: **Believe it or not, I'm putting author's notes at the beginning and end of this fic. Huh. It makes sense to explain some of what inspired this at the end of the chapter, so as to not give the plot away too much right from the start. I'm also going to be pretty vague with the warnings, but this fic is going to end up with a high PG-13 rating for potential violence and other factors, so consider yourself forewarned. This fic is also a bit of an experiment in style for me. I love playing with how I structure a fic, but this is actually the first time I've tried this type of style in this fandom and with this kind of plot. Usually I reserve it for much shorter pieces. A big thanks to Akiswana and Fickle, neither of which this story would be even half-way decent without.

There are only two chapters to this, with a possible epilogue to come as well. Enjoy!

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**Dawn, chapter one.**

He knows he has been drugged. The room spirals in shades of silver and grey, occasionally exploding in technicolor bursts that fade away the edges of his vision. He is not collapsed on the floor, nor slouched at the bar, his feet having found wings in the form of strong arms that help, hinder, trap. Fleeting thoughts flicker to the indignity of falling for a trick that is usually his own, yet those dazed thoughts cannot piece together enough fragmented pieces of his memory to figure out exactly how he was fooled. He is sure that each of his carefully sipped drinks was devoid of poison, that nothing laced the wine but water.

Although he is also sure that the sun has turned the path before him into a bejeweled walkway. His last shreds of common sense seem desperate to remind him that that is hardly possible, especially as it can't be past two in the morning, and wasn't he still within the pub only the barest of moments before?

And he has been drugged. Pied piper music leading him down his glittery street, being dragged through the shadowed backrooms of the bar, it matters hardly which. What does is that he is supposed to meet someone the next morning, and that the next morning is too far off.

Consciousness is already a task as opposed to a natural state of being.

The path and the bar blur into one, laughter flittering through air that has taken on a vaguely seasick feel. As his feet lose their ability of flight and collapse beneath him – and if this is a path of gold, it is one that feels oddly like carpet – he is swept up high into arms that nurture, protect, promise everything but.

It feels as though he's still falling, even though the grip he is in could not be any tighter or secure.

Up here, the laughter does not flitter, but drown.

As does Kai-stern, once the darkness finally wins dominance.

xxx

The town is dark and damp, and hardly to Alfeegi's liking. Summer visits here, supposedly, but there is nothing in these 'warmer' months that reminds him of Draqueen, which shines gold and green. Instead, there are dark streets and damp inns, and people who appear warm at first but who gaze for slightly too long and whose eyes stray quickly to pockets and bags. It is not a poor town, but as Kai-stern said when they had first arrived, with a knowing grin that held a touch of weariness, it is most certainly an opportunist one.

On some level Alfeegi can forgive that, just as he can forgive the way it takes almost half an hour to light the fire in his room. He can even almost, almost forgive the ridiculous expenses involved in renting three different rooms in three very different inns, as both Kai-stern and Tetheus argued rather convincingly that undercover work is unlikely to be all that successful if enough connections are made between the three of them for the villagers to correctly assume that they are not, in fact, three random, unimportant strangers. Well, Kai-stern argued rather convincingly. Tetheus just stood at the human's side, looking menacing, which held a certain level of argumentative weight to it, as well.

What Alfeegi finds somewhat less easy to forgive is the way he has been forced along on this little trip in the first place. Draqueen is where he finds his comfort and use, buried beneath papers and swamped by the incompetence of his fellow Officers. The only papers here have been used to start the damn fire, and he has found that stranded away from normality, the one who takes up the mantle of incompetence is himself.

There is a conspiracy to be had here, and there is no shortage of people to blame. Kai-stern, for suggesting that Alfeegi might find such an 'adventure' 'fun'. Tetheus, for not turning those menacing eyes on Kai-stern and instead allowing the other to have his way. Lord Lykouleon, who really, really should have known better, but who had lit up and commented on how _fabulous_ it would be for Alfeegi to get out and have a bit of a working holiday, especially considering that it was impossible to convince Alfeegi to ever take a non-working one. And, as always, Ruwalk, who was suspiciously away at the time, making him a prime suspect in his absence. Alfeegi hasn't yet figured out how Ruwalk could possibly be involved, but with Ruwalk, anything is possible,

Alfeegi is discovering that the very worst thing is that this undercover stuff is actually rather … fun. Not that he will ever admit it to anyone, naturally, and especially not to all-knowing Kai-stern and all-eyes Tetheus. There is his pride to still consider, and a natural, fundamental normalcy that still needs to be maintained.

As the fire dies for the third time, flames smothered by moist air, even then his spirits do not dampen. Instead, he runs over in his mind his plans for the next day, re-stepping the quickest way to get to the meeting place that they all agreed on the day before. Alfeegi wanted to meet there at daybreak, before people flood the streets and curious eyes come into play, but Kai-stern looked at him with just a touch of disbelief before stating firmly that, considering that he will have only just finished his part of the mission then, there is no way they are meeting before noon. At the earliest.

Tetheus looked almost amused. Alfeegi never realized before how it was the silent ones who actually manage to be the most annoying in their opinions.

So, noon it is, beside the large oak tree that is at the northern end of a somewhat park, somewhat communal dumping ground towards the outskirts of the main business part of the town. Naturally, Alfeegi has been situated the furthest away.

Kai-stern better not turn up hung-over.

xxx

There are vines pinning down his wrists, the ivy tangling there before winding down his arms. Long tendrils slither across exposed skin, patting and exploring, a caress that mocks with its tenderness. Lovingly down past his elbows, possessively across his left collarbone, then his right. Softly, softly around his neck, and then not so softly, softly, but harsh and tight, crushing away his breath and smothering, smothering, choking …

… and then the vines are rope made of a biting twine, tying him to a bed instead of a forest floor, and he is choking not on leaves or ivy, but his own screams.

True consciousness comes back with a rush.

Kai-stern almost wishes for the ill effects of the drug.

When the screams manage to force an escape and air rushes desperately to his lungs, his mind allows itself to slowly start to comprehend the situation. Eyes that still see the world through a slight haze take in the knife imbedded in his upper thigh, watch as it is roughly dragged out, the segregated edges catching and clawing at flesh that is already in tatters.

He doesn't scream this time, even though the pain that burns through his body demands it.

A fireplace flickers somewhere to his right, bathing the room in an insipid light that has the faintest hint of orange to it. It is enough to highlight gleaming eyes that 'innocently' study the blood that stains the knife, just as it is enough to reveal that their owner is one of the men that Kai-stern shared a drink with earlier. There are others in his room, fragments of hushed conversation reaching his ears even as their forms evade his gaze, but at the moment they hardly matter. This one is their leader, and if Kai-stern is to escape, he must first discover what this man wants.

At the moment, all that he knows is that his capturer likes his martinis dry.

"If you are from Manara, the wound should kill you in about half an hour – blood loss is devastatingly quick like that," the man says it almost conversationally, as he sits down on the corner of the bed. "It would be a pity, really. That drug that was slipped into your drink cost a small fortune, and if death claims you, your body will only be worth small change on the black market here." What a pity. "Humans are rather … boring … in their fragility, wouldn't you agree?" Kai-stern doesn't bother with a response. "They bleed life so easily, and hold little real worth. They're not as interesting as, say, members of the Dragon Clan."

He doesn't flinch, doesn't allow any outward show of panic, even as those eyes study him intensely, just waiting for some form of reaction. Inwardly, his thoughts spiral momentarily out of control, before he desperately forces them from their erratic path. The mission is compromised. Tetheus and Alfeegi are compromised. Exactly how much information has been leaked, and how has it possibly been leaked?

Why has it been leaked? They were only after a simple demon.

His sanity refuses to allow him to think beyond what this means for his friends and the mission in general. Anything more specific, more self-orientated has no place here, where his thoughts are already clouded by a wash of pain.

They do not speak for the next half hour. They do not speak as one of the shadows moves forward, gaining form. The new figure drinks a bitter beer and brags about everything under the sun, although he says not a word as he roughly sews up Kai-stern's wound, the stitches tight enough to stem the bleeding, but lacking the professionalism to prevent scarring.

It is the least of Kai-stern's problems.

Their leader is looking decidedly predatory.

xxx

People often make the mistake of confusing quietness with subtlety. Quiet people, supposedly, are that way because they do not want the world to know so easily their thoughts, and that the few words they choose to speak are laced with hidden meanings and uncanny observations – ones that take great time to decipher fully.

Tetheus is known for his quietness. As his long, angry strides carry him down the main roads of Waquun, dark eyes dangerous in their intensity, only a fool would see even the slightest hint of subtlety.

He doubts that Alfeegi is all that happy to be woken up several hours before he needs to be, eyes fogged over with tiredness and clothes thrown on in a messed rush. Impatience flickers across Tetheus' usually neutral features as Alfeegi starts to first berate him, before breaking off mid-sentence.

"What are you doing here, anyway? I thought the plan was to meet up somewhere where it was unlikely for people to be able to connect us." Alfeegi's eyes narrow. "Let me guess. There's been a change in plans and no one thought to inform me. How typical. If-"

"Kai-stern has disappeared."

Alfeegi blinks once, confusion evident. Worry creeps into his voice as he ponders aloud that surely Kai-stern hasn't disappeared as such, but has simply gone to a different bar when Tetheus wasn't looking-

"And why were you keeping tabs on Kai-stern?" Alfeegi questions, connecting dots that may or may not exist. "Kai-stern said it would be best if we all kept our distance from each other…"

"I know exactly what Kai-stern said," is Tetheus' cold reply. "But as Security chief, the safety of you both is my responsibility. I have been 'keeping tabs' on you as well. Naturally." And Kai-stern is not in any of the bars, and he is not passed out in his room. Officially, Kai-stern agreed to meet him at dawn to make sure everything went smoothly, but Tetheus is not one who likes to leave things … unsupervised … for such lengths of time. "I know the last bar he was seen in, he hasn't been spotted anywhere else since."

"Is anyone there talking?" Quickly slipping into his jacket, Alfeegi is finally starting to get a sense for the urgency of the situation as sleep fades away.

"No." Tetheus pauses for just a second, before amending his statement. "Not yet."

Alfeegi's eyes widen just slightly at that, although Tetheus feels that it was perhaps his tone that startled the other so. Alfeegi rarely has to see Tetheus in action, and is far more used to the almost representative role Tetheus often played.

But this is hardly a game. Kai-stern has been missing for several hours.

If Kai-stern is dead, he swears that there will be hell to pay. And Tetheus has never been one for subtleties.

xxx

Kai-stern is not perfect. He has always known that there is a dangerous edge to the way he gathers information, and that wandering hands and welcoming gazes sometimes want to do more than just wander and watch. There have been times when he has slipped, misread a situation just slightly, and landed in situations that he likes to never think much of afterwards.

But he has only ever slipped twice, and not in hundreds of years.

Neither of them had ended like this.

Martini has a name, a foreign name that Kai-stern cannot place – Sivan. It's a pretty name that doesn't belong on such a man, who converses with nice words that are loaded with not so nice meanings.

"They say that those that belong to the Dragon Clan are far more difficult to break than all others." Soft voice, kind voice. "They also say that, because they're so hard to kill, that when they bleed, their blood has almost mythical properties."

"It seems they say many things," Kai-stern responds, tugging again just slightly at his bonds. "But they are things only a fool would believe."

"And yet, the Dragon Clan blood that feeds your veins has gifted you – a mere human – with immortality. Perhaps if you … offer up enough of it, that immortality could be shared."

Kai-stern isn't all that surprised to find he's dealing with someone who is, quite clearly, nuts.

The hand that plays gently around his wound is smooth and soft, aristocratic in touch even as it becomes increasingly primal in nature. In the inn, this man held himself like all others, dressed in rough clothes and without a hint of complexity or motive. Here, far away from a world that Kai-stern is familiar with, wealth and breeding drips not only from fine clothes and jeweled fingers, but from a refined dialect as well.

"But, Officer Kai-stern of Draqueen, I do not plan on collecting your blood." The hand drifts higher. "Although I am a collector, of sorts. I suppose you could say I have a taste for the rarer entities of life. There are few things rarer than a human playing the role of an immortal, wouldn't you say? It seems such a waste," Calm and friendly takes on a much more vicious edge, "but then, that is part of your appeal."

And Kai-stern is not perfect, but he is not stupid either.

He almost wishes he were.

_To be continued._

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**Author's notes, part two: **And this is where I explain a little bit the actual concept at work here ). This fic was inspired by a couple of things. One was the realisation that Kai-stern spends a lot of time on missions deliberately letting others get him drunk so that they think he's harmless/so they get drunk in turn, and say things that they perhaps might not of if they were sober. I suppose that in itself wasn't the realisation, but rather the fact that - especially for someone who is human, and technically more fragile than those he generally surrounds himself with - there is always the possibility that the whole drinking scenario could easily get out of hand very quickly if something didn't go according to plan, or if Kai-stern hadn't read the scene absolutely perfectly. Considering that Kai-stern travels alone and without any backup, he takes a hell of a lot of risks going into the situations he does.

The second inspiration, and the main reason why Alfeegi and Tetheus play a major role in this story, is how, in the manga, Tetheus just 'happened' to notice Kai-stern outside a bar, in a foreign city that they just both 'happened' to be in at the same time, and how Alfeegi's freaked out over discovering that Kai-stern's expenses included a bar tab in the same scene. It's not too much of a stretch to read both Tetheus' and Alfeegi's responses as being concern and worry, not merely 'co-incidence' and anger.


	2. Dawn, Chapter Two

**Author's notes: **Thank you for the reviews! Sadly, no Tetheus x Kai-stern this time round, which is always a little sad . Warnings for the first part still apply to this chapter, which wraps up the story.

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**Dawn, Chapter Two.**

The streets are different now that they hold one of their own hidden somewhere in their grasp. Alfeegi has lost the apprehension he held when their journey through the bars and inns first began, his unfamiliarity with the night scene starkly obvious even as early morning gives way to early afternoon. Tetheus says little, rarely speaking to Alfeegi as he quietly melts into each tavern, Alfeegi following obediently behind.

The streets are different, but the people are resolutely the same. They speak idly and innocently, curious eyes belying nothing. Or, belie nothing to anyone who might not be Alfeegi who reads every subtle lie, each evasion with perfection. Tetheus is somewhat impressed; at least, Alfeegi feels that he must be – he cannot find any other reason why the demon would keep them together if Alfeegi were not of some use.

But knowing where deception and untruths lie can only benefit one so far, and while Tetheus has started asking questions that are more 'yes' or 'no' than anything more complex, they are still without any true leads by the time early afternoon becomes early evening.

And Kai-stern has been missing half a day.

The next bar they enter has cliental settling in for the first round of evening drinks, although most merge with the shadows when Alfeegi and Tetheus enter. Their own deception is long abandoned, and while those they meet do not know Tetheus and Alfeegi by name, they still know that they wield a power and prestige that outranks them all. Not that this power is much help, and Alfeegi is finding that his frustration is starting to take on a startling violent hint.

Kai-stern is missing. _Kai-stern_. The human is annoying and far too laid back, and often skips out on his work and hides behind the often secret nature of his missions whenever Alfeegi ever comes close to nailing him for his latest infringement. Always explaining away 'jokes' with a warm smile, always finding excuses for absolutely anything. On good days, Kai-stern is the bane of Alfeegi's existence. On bad days, Kai-stern is all that is wrong in the world.

And yet, it is Kai-stern who Alfeegi wishes he could protect above all others from a situation like this. Perhaps it is a human flaw, but Kai-stern cares for all in a manner that disallows discrimination, giving and sacrificing with such a casual ease that it is often not until much later that others even realize the true impact he has had. Alternatively far too youthful and endlessly aged, Alfeegi has always been of the opinion that Kai-stern cares too much, but it is flaw that is very hard to hold against him. Annoying, yes. But Kai-stern is perhaps the kindest person that Alfeegi has ever met; even though that kindness is rarely returned on the level it is offered.

Kai-stern is not the type of person that anyone should be allowed to hurt. Alfeegi has never told Kai-stern that, and he doubts that Kai-stern would believe him even if he did. After all, Alfeegi is hardly ever nice to Kai-stern, really.

But it is a different kind of not nice than this.

Tetheus does not seem affected at all by their lack of success, nor does it seem it matters that it is Kai-stern whose life is at stake. They are sitting at the back of the bar, Tetheus coldly asking questions that they have now asked a hundred times, his words sliced through with an almost biting indifference. The youkai even accepts the invitation for a meal, although the steak dish before him goes untouched.

Calm, cold, collected. Occasionally, Alfeegi sees a hint of anger lurking in dark eyes, although he is almost sure that he only ever imagines it. There is certainly nothing angry in Tetheus' methodical nature at the moment, as he talks over food and wine, the bartender claiming to know nothing of the fair-haired officer.

Calm, cold, collected. Tetheus remains that way as he picks up his unused steak knife, before emotionless driving it into the bartender's hand, pinning it to the table.

Alfeegi gasps.

The bartender screams.

The remaining drinkers scatter in self-preservation, leaving the bar empty save for the three of them.

Tetheus doesn't even bat an eyelid.

"You said you've never seen him?" There is something surreal about how Tetheus picks up the conversation exactly where he momentarily abandoned it. No flicker of emotion clouds his voice even now, and Alfeegi finds himself too speechless to interject in any manner.

"Are you nuts!" It's a garbled cry, and the bartender raises shocked eyes from his bleeding hand to Tetheus. "Are you fucking _nuts_?"

"I can remove the knife if you like." Emotionless perhaps, but this Tetheus is suddenly very dangerous, and Alfeegi is not all that sure what to do – is not even sure if he is brave enough to do anything, for the bartender is not the only one who is terrified. "But if I do that, I will have to put it somewhere else."

It is not so much a threat as it is a promise.

Alfeegi no longer recognizes the man before him.

"I – damn it! I swear I know nothing!" Something flashes then in Tetheus' eyes, dark enough for even the bartender to see it. As Tetheus reaches forward to remove the blade and no doubt fulfill his promise, the bartender seems to have a change of heart. "Samona's. It's a bar down the road. That's where he was last at. I heard something about some expensive drug that they used on your friend, but that's all I know."

And it is. Tetheus doesn't need Alfeegi to confirm the obvious, and, without a word, Tetheus turns and leaves. For a moment, Alfeegi cannot draw his eyes away from the bloody mess of a hand that trembles just slightly, frayed nerve ends acting on their own, before he too silently gets up and follows.

Both ignore the bartender's desperate cries for assistance.

xxx

When Kai-stern was a child, there was a boy in his same village who liked to pull the wings off of pretty butterflies. In a village where poverty dictated all, true colour was a rarity, and the butterflies as a result had always been somewhat special, especially to those who were still young enough to believe that they too could fly away one day. Wide eyed, Kai-stern always watched on in horror, unable to look away and even worse, unable to do anything, because the other boy was so much bigger and stronger.

Kai-stern learnt quickly as a young boy that taking on people who were bigger and stronger never ended well.

Once, just once, he asked the other boy why he would be so cruel to something so innocent, and all he received in reply was first a laugh, and then a black eye.

Tending his wound later, his mother was the one to tell him. Some people, she said, did things simply because they could. Power in their small village was something few had, but those few who did abused it in ways that Kai-stern would only learn later, once he found his own escape from the village, were unacceptable by most standards.

As the whip comes down again, parting flesh from bone, Kai-stern thinks of butterflies and flying away.

At least, he tries to. He's losing even the memory of flight.

He doesn't know how much time has now passed since he woke, only that time itself is hardly relevant when measured in blood instead of sand. He feels that there must be a purpose to all this, a reason for why the sheets are dyed a rustic shade of red. But he has not been asked a single question, although he has screamed all sorts of answers.

Dazed, he wonders if this is the adult version of pulling off wings.

But he is hardly a butterfly.

The whip has not been a stranger over these lost hours, or is it now days? He knows its lick almost intimately, the searing pain each lash leaves behind burnt permanently not only onto his skin, but his memories as well.

The whip is not alone in its intimacy, he is dressed in bruises that are already starting to ripen yellow and green, and he wears lacerations and wounds as though they are going out of fashion.

But that is all he wears.

A desperate mew quietly escapes through parched lips as the whip leaves, replaced by touch and heat and weight and hands and …

… and the mew turns into a choked sob.

xxx

Cold eyes study the blood that stains his sword, before Tetheus impassively places it back in its sheath. The blade is well familiar with blood, having killed many a demon in the past, although the blood that stains it now is neither from a fatal wound nor from a demon. At least, the wound was not fatal when Tetheus left. If the bastard dies from blood loss, Tetheus doesn't really give a damn.

All that matters is that their 'visit' to Samona's is a success, even if Alfeegi leaves the bar another shade paler. Alfeegi has not said much at all, these last couple of hours, the exposure to a darker world – and a darker Tetheus – probably not much to the other's liking. If there was time to worry about the possible implications all this was having on Alfeegi, or if the other were not so valuable when it came to seeing through deception, then perhaps Tetheus would have left Alfeegi somewhere safe where he could still harbor his simple, naive delusions of the world outside Draqueen.

But there is no time to worry about Alfeegi, not when Kai-stern's life hangs so dangerously in the balance. Tetheus fears for the human in a way that is most un-demon like, but Kai-stern has that effect on people. No one deserves the fate that tied tongues have been forced to tell, but that someone would do this to Kai-stern inspires a deeply rooted anger and fear within Tetheus that blazes beyond shades of red and into something far darker.

Tetheus despises those who take advantage of the weak.

"That man might die," Alfeegi speaks up finally, as they abandon the mains streets for the shadows.

"Yes." Good.

"The villa of this Sivan is on the other side of the river."

"Yes."

Alfeegi's eyes narrow.

"There isn't a boat across until tomorrow."

"Yes."

Silence falls again as Tetheus leads the way back to the inn. They are almost there when Alfeegi suddenly stops, causing Tetheus to pause in his step, also. He has no chance to query the other man as to why, as Alfeegi turns abruptly on his heels and punches him.

Tetheus wonders what took Alfeegi so long.

"You _bastard_." Alfeegi forces the words through clenched teeth. "This was why you were watching Kai-stern, because you knew that something like this could happen."

"Yes." There is no other possible answer to give.

"And you knew that something like this could happen, because it has in the past." When Alfeegi swings again when Tetheus doesn't reply, Tetheus catches his fist before it makes any contact.

"Yes." Quiet, soft. His eyes cloud over just briefly. Just once, but once is enough.

Once is all that he knows of. Kai-stern is not one to share his problems with others if he can so help it, and it was only by chance that Tetheus knew of that one time. Eyes wide with pain and bewilderment, Kai-stern had not meant to stumble into Tetheus' room instead of his own, and a silver tongue that could explain away anything had been useless when countered by the blood that stained Kai-stern's clothes.

"Yes." As he echoes his own words, he finds it difficult to recognize his own voice, and he takes a further moment before speaking again. "I knew. _I_ knew. The fault is mine alone, Alfeegi. It is certainly not yours."

Alfeegi sags, the anger melting into something more desolate, his fists clenching tightly at his sides.

"But I should have." Loathing. "I look at the reports, I know that he goes on most of his missions alone. I _know_ how much he spends on alcohol. Only an idiot wouldn't realize how much of a risk Kai-stern takes each time he goes on a mission, but I never gave it second thought."

Never tried to stop him.

In a way they are perhaps all guilty, and negligence can sometimes be a crime that carries the harshest of penalties.

It's a price that Kai-stern is paying.

xxx

He no longer screams.

He no longer can.

Kai-stern wishes he could escape to wherever his voice has fled to, or that it had at least taken his sanity with it. Yet, even as he starts to lose his ability to focus, and his body wears and tears, his mind only ever threatens to collapse in on itself.

Sivan has told him that it has been three days.

Sivan is wrong. It has been a lifetime.

He knows he is stronger than this, and yet Kai-stern yearns for escape in any of its forms. He finds that he cannot truly remember anything outside of this room, cannot remember a life where he is not chained and naked, bleeding life and blood, pride and preservation.

He is not so much as being broken, as he is being toyed with. Somehow, that is even more difficult to comprehend. The other man pushes Kai-stern beyond boundaries neither his body nor mind knew existed, dancing briefly with death before always reigning him back in just in time.

If he were still human, this would all be over by now.

He is a step away from shattering.

Sivan rarely speaks, and when he does it is often through softly spoken whispers in his ear. Kai-stern understands little now of what he says, his mind no longer being able to truly comprehend and decipher the words that are spoken while hands explore and caress with casual familiarity.

Kai-stern prefers the harshness of the whip and Sivan's other 'toys' to the gentle touches that always prelude other, far from gentle acts.

And he no longer cries.

There is no longer any point.

Three days. Surely it should be dawn, now. He remembers that he is supposed to meet someone at dawn, someone who surely will not allow this to continue. Dawn should be creeping through the far window, spilling crimson across a bed that is already stained a similar shade in blood. If he strains his senses, he can almost hear birds chirping beyond the desperate reaches of his hearing, the faint echo of hope substituting for true sound.

And it must almost be dawn, with its promised intervention. Yet, why does it not reach this forsaken hell, where everything else is welcomed with a decretive abandon?

Instead, there is only darkness.

"It's because you refuse to open your eyes," Sivan's quiet, husky voice murmurs in his left ear, dark laughter lurking there. "Such a pity, because they are very lovely, so unusually clear."

It is only then that he realizes that dawn is still many, many hours off.

xxx

Five days. Weather that has never been perfect has turned against them overnight, rough winds making the river uncrossable. Five days of sitting in their room, waiting for the winds to drop, five days of plotting and planning, an element of panic slowly slipping into the air as the days passed.

Five days.

They don't talk now, as they step off the boat that docks a mere stone's throw away from the mansion belonging to one Sivan La-Tonya. Tetheus appears as impassive as ever, although Alfeegi is no longer fooled by the façade, and he wonders how he ever was. Alfeegi's own eyes have taken on a harder appearance than normal, and it is not uncertainty that holds his tongue, keeping him as silent as Tetheus.

They have never had much in common, the Demon and the Dragon. But, as they quietly walk up the path their steps fall in perfect unison, and their features – and their thoughts – share the same cold determination.

Earlier, back when this first began, Alfeegi found he could not recognize Tetheus. Now, he no longer recognizes himself.

They could do this subtly, slip through back doors, or wait for backup that would take days to arrive. That is what a sensible person would do.

Alfeegi is always very sensible. But he is never subtle.

Five days.

The memory of always-warm eyes and a kind smile.

They take the front door.

xxx

The sounds of a fight taunt him, mocking Kai-stern with their improbability. Kai-stern hears the screams and cries, listening in with quiet detachment as they filter through his hazy thoughts. Perhaps if this was some other lifetime, those noises would bring him some sense of hope. But nothing sinks beyond the superficial anymore; he finds it too difficult to process anything more complex than pain.

He has heard many fights over the last few days, all fabricated by his own desperateness.

Kai-stern finds it difficult to really care, anymore. Perhaps that is why the tears no longer fall.

He is supposed to be stronger than this.

He is supposed to be stronger than this.

The sounds drift closer, too close to merely linger around the edges of his consciousness any longer. Then, familiar voices mix with the cries and clashing of swords, and Kai-stern's eyes widen just slightly, disbelief warring with betrayal. If his mind is still playing tricks, then this is far crueler than any punishment Sivan inflicts on him.

Screams.

Swords.

Silence.

And then the door is swinging open, an unmistakable silhouette framed there.

Hysterical laughter bubbles up Kai-stern's throat, although it comes out more as a gurgle.

Tetheus looks scared. Tetheus.

Kai-stern almost feels as though he should be apologizing.

"Hey." The soft uttering is far too casual for formal, proper Tetheus, who says it as he slowly walks towards him. There is something morbid about how amusing Kai-stern is finding this, although it could merely be that shock is setting in at last. He does somehow manage to twist the corner of his lips into the tiniest of smiles.

Tetheus' hands are nothing like Sivan's. Rough and calloused, they make short work of the ropes, before the demon hesitantly lowers a hand to Kai-stern's check, wiping away the dampness there with a foreign, almost surreal gentleness.

It seems he hasn't lost all of his tears, after all.

"Did you kill him?" He somehow forces the words out, although they are hoarse and spoken in the quietest of whispers. Tetheus still hears them, as one of the many benefits of becoming a Dragon Clan member is the physical enhancements that come with their gifted immortality.

Benefits.

Kai-stern feels as though he is going to be ill.

"No." It is not Tetheus who answers, the new voice coming from the doorway. "I did." Wide eyes, Kai-stern can do nothing but stare.

He doesn't think he has ever seen Alfeegi with a sword in his hands, before.

He is certain that he's never seen Alfeegi hold one that is washed in blood.

Pale eyes fixate on the sword, the silver blade tainting the red that stains into a slightly lighter hue, one shot through with orange.

This time, the smile is a little less forced. He has found his dawn, slicked across the surface of Alfeegi's sword.

When Tetheus carefully sweeps Kai-stern up into his arms, it is almost an echo of when Sivan did the same, back when he was first drugged. But this time, it feels likes flying.

* * *

End. There's quite possibly an epilogue coming, something to conclude and bring everything all together, but that will be in a little while, and only if it comes out ok. Phew. This was very difficult to write, I ended up biting off much more than I could actually chew in the end, what with the tricky tense, subject manner and so forth. Part of the fun of writing this was because of the complexities involved, but now I'm off to write something fluffy and simple. All thoughts and comments very welcome. 


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